Chain of Command
by Miandrethal
Summary: Being stripped of his Command of the Enterprise, Jim Kirk must complete a dangerous task along with Lieutenant Uhura and Doctor McCoy for Starfleet Command in order to engender peace amongst the galaxy. Or will it?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is a departure from my usual romantic forays with Spock/Uhura. I wanted to focus more on the fact these characters are soldiers and are in constant danger. There is some mentions of Spock/Uhura, but this is mostly an adventure story. I actually got the idea and title from an actual Star Trek: TNG episode, but the main premise and the plot are mostly mine. Also, I am adhering to the fact that everyone, regardless of gender is referred to as "Sir" in the Star Trek universe. Please, please please Read and Review. And as always, I do NOT own these characters, I just love and respect them.**

Chapter 1

The bridge of the Enterprise was quiet with only sonic beeps to keep the crew company. James T. Kirk sat still in the Command Chair thrumming his hand along the arm rest. This had been the most boring thirty-six hours on patrol that either of the crew could remember. Chekov was quickly falling asleep in his chair, if it weren't for the consistent throat clearing of Sulu, Chekov would have fallen face first into the console.

"Captain, a Federation ship, the USS Figaro, just appeared on our Starboard side, they are coming about, sir," Spock said, causing everyone to perk up with excitement.

"Captain, we are being hailed," Uhura said.

"On screen, Lieutenant," Kirk responded and the vaguely familiar face of Admiral Jung appeared on the view screen, she had thin lips and a stern, lined face, deep-set eyes and an austere bun of salt and pepper hair drawn up to the nape of her neck. She looked serious and Jim stood from his Captain chair as a ways of salute.

"How can I help you, Admiral?" Jim asked.

"You can beam me aboard and speak with me in private, Captain."

"Yes sir," Jim said, "Scotty, lock onto Admiral Jung's signal and beam her aboard. Please have security escort her to my ready room. Spock, you have the con," Jim said walking away from the command chair and towards his ready room. Everyone, including Jim, was looking at one another with skepticism; it was unprecedented that an Admiral would present themselves to a star ship in person. Jim mentally shrugged and entered his ready room, ordering some water from his replicator. Within minutes Admiral Jung was joining him.

"Can I offer you a beverage, Admiral Jung?" Jim asked, trying to be a charismatic host.

"There is no time for pleasantries, Kirk, please has a seat," Jung said as she placed her hands behind her back and strolled in front of him.

"What is this about then, Admiral?" Kirk said, not sitting and staring at the small but intimidating woman.

"Computer, please play file Starfleet CH9D452, authorization code HZC946582," the computer acknowledged and quickly buzzed on screen a picture of a Romulan that Jim recognized from some of his holos, "Do you recognize this Romulan, Kirk?" Jung asked.

"I do, that is D'Nal Tomolaak, the front running candidate for Romulan High Council. What about him?"

"What I am about to ask of you has everything to do about him. But first things first, who is your best long-range sharpshooter on the ship?" 

* * *

><p>Jim and Jung exited his ready room after an hour of conversation to a rather anxious bridge crew. The USS Figaro was still in orbit around the Enterprise when they exited and the Admiral told Lieutenant Uhura to bring up an open channel and hail the ship.<p>

"Captain Adelphia, please beam aboard the USS Enterprise as you will be relieving Captain Kirk," Admiral Jung said to the dark-skinned Bajoran with the soft brown eyes. There was an audible gasp as the news was said openly upon the Bridge, even Spock raised an eyebrow, "As for the rest of the Senior staff we will be meeting in Conference Room Alpha at 1400 hours," the small Admiral exited the Bridge with Kirk in tow.

"What was that about?" Uhura looked at Spock, wondering what was going on.

"You have as much information on the matter as I do, Lieutenant," Spock responded and continued back with his work as if nothing had changed, as if Jim had just not been relieved of his command of the Enterprise, as if the new Captain wasn't some Bajoran female that none of them had ever heard of.

"Who is the new Captain?" Sulu asked.

"Captain Roddy Adelphia, she has been with Starfleet for twelve years, first Bajoran Captain of a Starfleet vessel, she has been awarded commendations many times over for valor, and seems to have a penchant for Romulan negotiation," Spock said, having looked up the Captain's lengthy Starfleet file.

"Vell, zat is interesting," Chekov responded.

"What the hell is this all about?" a grumpy growl from the doors alerted the bridge crew to the appearance of doctor McCoy from medical bay.

"It seems as if we are to be acquiring a new Captain," Spock responded.

"What happened to Jim?" McCoy asked his brow furrowed even deeper than it usually was.

"That is what we're trying to figure out, McCoy," Uhura responded.

"And if they were going to give us another Captain, why not Spock, he's first officer?" McCoy questioned.

"The decision seemed to be a mutual one between Captain Kirk and Admiral Jung," Spock offered.

"That Admiral Jung is a hard one to deny anything, though. I'm going to go find Jim and get to the bottom of this horseshit," McCoy responded, Spock stopped him by grabbing his shoulder before the doctor could exit the Bridge.

"Doctor, with all due respect, if Jim wanted us to know he would have told us," both men regarded each other with steely eyes. McCoy sat and thought about what Spock was trying to tell him and sighed. The Vulcan was correct, if Jim was at liberty to tell them, he would.

"**ALL SENIOR OFFICERS PLEASE REPORT TO CONFERENCE ROOM ALPHA,"** Scotty's voice rang over the intercom.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," McCoy said and filed off of the Bridge with the rest of the senior officers towards the conference room. When they all entered Conference Room Alpha they were greeedt by the Admiral Jung, Captain Kirk and Captain Adelphia. Captain Adelphia was a tall Bajoran with skin so dark that it resembled polished onyx, but her eyes were the color of sand dunes. She had very short hair almost unnoticeable and closely buzzed to her scalp, her teeth were white like the creamy clouds of earth, and of course she had the deeply ridged native of the Bajoran. She was a strange kind of beauty but with a strength that seemed to resonate from a regal sort of air that surprised all of the officers. As soon as they were all inside the closed doors of the Conference room Scotty promptly called the officers to attention.

"I, Captain Roddy Adelphia of the USS Figaro NCC-1723 do relinquish my command and am relieved by Admiral Essing Jung on this stardate 2253.42," she said with slightly accented Standard and turning towards Admiral Jung.

"I relieve you sir," Admiral Jung responded.

"I am relieved," Captain Adelphia and Admiral Jung saluted and then Adelphia turned to Kirk.

"I, Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 do relinquish my command and am relieved by Captain Roddy Adelphia on this stardate 2253.42," Kirk said without so much as a blink.

"I relieve you, sir," Captain Adelphia responded.

"I am relieved," Kirk responded and they saluted.

The ceremony being over they were all called to be at ease.

"As you were," Captain Adelphia said, "please return to your posts, Commander Spock please meet with me in my ready room," Captain Adelphia said and walked out of the door towards the bridge. The rest of the crew followed suit.

"Jim, what the hell is going on here," McCoy said, grabbing his friend by the arm and stopping him.

"I think that should be obvious, Bones," Kirk offered with a trademark grin that strangely didn't meet his twinkling blue eyes. McCoy sighed and exited as he was ordered.

"Actually, Dr. McCoy, Lieutenant Uhura, please stay behind," Admiral Jung said, Spock and Nyota locked eyes but the Vulcan exited as he was commanded and walked to join his Captain in the ready room. The Vulcan walked briskly down the hallway and when he entered his Captain's ready room, he inwardly admitted that it was strange to see the Bajoran standing where Jim usually did. She turned and offered him a cordial nod.

"Commander Spock, what I need from you is a dossier of the whole crew's combat records, I need combat drills to commence every hour on the hour starting at 2200, I need the bridge shifts to be modified from three to five a day, and I need all auxiliary power to be diverted to our shields, life support, and weapons systems by 2100, understood?" Captain Adelphia offered.

"If I may suggest, Captain, diverting all of the ship's auxiliary power to those three systems would cause a difficulty in our research facilities on board among other core functions of the Enterprise. Additionally, the conversion of the bridge shifts in such short of time would cause many of our crew to have to double up on shifts, meaning less sleep for 20.385% of our crew," Spock responded. Captain Adelphia walked forward and stood to her full height, almost as tall as the Vulcan. She looked him in the eyes and stared him down. Spock did not blink.

"Is this going to be a problem, Commander?" she asked sternly.

"No sir, I was just alerting you to the difficulties involved."

"The difficulties are not concern, Mr. Spock. You are the First officer of the ship and if you wish to remain so, I suggest you get it done," she said.

"Yes sir," Spock responded and turned on one heel to exit.

"Mr. Spock?" she stopped him as he reached the door. He turned to acknowledge her, "also, please have this furniture removed from my ready room."

"Yes Captain," Spock exited to the bridge. 

* * *

><p>She was in her battle dress blacks and sore from the rest of the day. There had been no explanation from the Admiral or Jim about the day's unusual events. All she was told was that she, Jim and MCcoy were going to be running drills until the proper time. They had probably run seventy-five or eighty combat drills in the holodeck, something that she hadn't done since her time at the academy. There was no doubt that Nyota Uhura was in phenomenal shape, but having to physically fight and carry all of the combat gear was working muscles in her body that she hadn't worked in years. Once more, she had been given a sniper rifle, something she hadn't practiced since her academy days either.<p>

The drills had consisted of her, Jim and McCoy scaling the deep crevices of a cave, planting land mines and escaping to the surface. Once they reached the surface, she was to stay perched atop of an inconspicuous cliff and snipe from far range any adversary that happened to pop up in the Captain's and the Doctor's way. It wasn't easy and repeating the same program innumerable times without so much as an explanation was both unnerving and tiring. Now, in her quarters, all she wanted was to be alone. She was slipping off her black boots when she heard a tone at her door, she didn't respond, hoping that the visitor would think her asleep or not there and leave. Instead, she heard a code being entered and the door swishing open.

Spock.

She exhaled and turned to look at her Vulcan lover, who despite his stoic façade, was reading to her quite concerned and a bit confused. She didn't even stand, her feet hurt too much, and he entered bearing with him something to eat from the mess hall. She blessed him.

"Are you avoiding me, Nyota?" he asked. She furrowed her brow and removed the hair tie from her head, shaking her long locks and rubbing the tension away from her temples.

"Why would I ever do that?" she asked exasperated. He walked over to her handing her some of the steamed vegetables that he'd collected from the mess hall.

"You did not report back to your post after the ceremony, I have not seen you all day, and it wasn't until I was forced to take my evening meal alone that I sought you out," Spock came and sat next to her. She stripped the heavy combat jacket from her slight form and threw it across from her onto the chair.

"I have been in combat training all day," she responded through a heavy swallow of water.

"I deduced that," he said, looking her over.

"Lieutenant Alberts will be at my post until further notice," she whispered leaning her head back onto her sofa.

"Is there a basis for the combat drills?" he looked worried and she knew that she could not tell him nor did she know what the reasons for the drills were. She merely shook her head and he grabbed her hand. She knew the meaning of this, he thought she was lying and meant to find out what it was that was keeping her from him. She pulled her hand away and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Spock, I'm not lying to you, there is no need to use our link in that way. And if I did know something, maybe it is confidential," she responded a bit upset with him. He cleared his throat and they sat in silence.

"I was concerned, forgive me, Nyota."

"How is our new Captain?" she asked after almost devouring the whole plate of steamed vegetables, hours of combat training and thousands of calories burned would do that to you.

"She is," he paused, "very different in her leadership style," he said choosing his words carefully. Nyota almost laughed.

"How so?" she asked, not hiding the amusement in her voice.

"She is more aggressive than Jim," he responded, she made a sound in the back of her throat that bade him continue, "she has completely changed the style structure of operations, even going so far as to remove Ensign Chekov from his post and replacing him with Ensign Cartwright."

"Well, that _is_ different. Do you like her?" Uhura urged.

"Nyota, like has various definition, like…" she reached over and planted a kiss on his nose to stop him, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Spock, do you _like _her?" she asked again.

"I will say that I prefer Captain Kirk," he responded and she laughed, edging her way onto his lap and straddling him. She cupped his head in her hands and kissed him.

"I know you're worried. Believe me, I am just as confused, but we're Starfleet soldiers, and all of this will be revealed in good time, ok?" he nodded in agreement and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her into another kiss. They broke and she stood, stripping off her shirt and pants in the living room. He watched her with lustful eyes and she knew he was watching as she moved from the front of her quarters towards the darkness of her bed room.

"Spock, let's go take a shower," she said, throwing her bra from the darkness and it hitting him squarely on the head. He was up and into the shower as fast as his legs could carry him. 

* * *

><p>Uhura was balanced precariously behind a large, shielding boulder on the ledge of a great cliff. She held the sniper rifle with great practiced care and watched through the tiny scope as Jim and McCoy ran through a field of nameless adversaries. She took three of them out with succinct shots to the head, neck, and chest, respectively. Her counterparts moved easily and quickly past them. Another three men were approaching and she shot two of them with practiced ease, and yet she missed one. The one man grabbed McCoy and threw him against a hard, rocky wall.<p>

"Computer, pause program," Jim said, he wasn't happy. He went over and helped Bones up off of the ground and then turned to look at the small dot that was Uhura. He motioned her down and she joined them at the bottom of the cliff.

"What the hell was that?" Jim asked.

"I'm sorry, Captain, I didn't see him," she said with downturned eyes. She knew that had this been real, McCoy would have been in a lot of trouble, "I'm sorry McCoy."

"Don't worry about it gorgeous."

"No, fucking worry about it. You can't make those kinds of mistakes. This is important," Jim said with more sternness than either McCoy or Uhura were used to hearing from him.

"What exactly is _this, _Jim?" McCoy asked. They had been doing the same run through the program with varying levels of difficulty for more than seventeen hours nonstop.

"When the time comes, I will be able to explain further, until then, I need for all of us to continue to do these simulations to best of our ability, and that means perfect, Lieutenant," he stared directly at Nyota.

"I'm not moving another sore muscle without some sort explanation," Bones responded.

"Doctor, that is insubordination," Kirk turned to stare at his friend with the seriousness of a Captain. McCoy didn't back down.

"Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a special ops soldier, either you do some explaining or I'm walking."

"You stubborn fool, don't make me throw you in the Brig," Jim eased closer to McCoy their noses almost touching. McCoy dropped his ruck pack and gritted his teeth.

"I ain't moving, Jim, so throw me in the clink if you have to," McCoy responded. Jim exhaled.

"Fuck," Jim said wiping his hands on his thighs and finding a rock to sit on. Nyota put down the sniper rifle and sat down next to him, McCoy followed suit, sitting on the other side of him.

"Captain, we need to know," she said. He looked at her and then to McCoy.

"You're right, besides, you're going to find out soon enough, it's best to not surprise you so as to lessen distraction. Are either of your familiar with D'Nal Tomolaak?"

"Of course, he's the front runner for Romulan High Council, an Independent chosen from the people of Romulus, some say he's a dissident," Uhura spoke up, still confused with a furrowed brow.

"According to Admiral Jung and the rest of Starfleet and most of the Romulan Empire, he is just that. Strangely enough, Romulus wants to join the Federation, after the situation with Nero and the destruction of Vulcan they seek Federation sanctity in order to avoid the inevitable destruction of their planet by supernova. However, Tomolaak is rightly against it and is gaining support from a strong percentage of the Romulan people," Jim said his eyes shining blue with clarity.

"What does this have to do with us?" McCoy asked.

"Members of the Romulan High Council approached the Federation in hopes that they could aid in quelling the population uprising. However, with Tomolaak being so popular, the Federation saw it as a problem that Romulus would have to deal with by themselves, and the Romulans not being a Federation member it makes sense."

"Then why are we here, Jim?" Nyota asked.

"Somewhere within all of the talks that have been going on behind closed doors, there was a deal struck between members of the Romulan High Council and the Federation. Romulus needs our support but the Federation will not help them as long as Tomolaak is in any way involved with the High Council, knowing how much power the man has over the people."

"Jim, everything is as clear as mud for me right now."

"Admiral Jung came to me and explained that I was going to have to relinquish my command of the Enterprise to Captain Adelphia because she has more experience in battle with Romulans, Romulan culture and negotiations. While she is meeting with the High Council to discuss the terms of their joining the Federation, a small, elite team would sneak into the Beta Quadrant and assassinate D'Nal Tomolaak. We are to make it look like a terrorist attack," he couldn't even look at their faces of shock. He couldn't believe that he was repeating his orders or that he was involved in such a plot.

"And you agreed to this?" Uhura said, shooting up from her seat on the holographic rock shock, disbelief and disdain rising in her voice.

"I didn't have a choice, Nyota. Those were orders direct from Starfleet Command."

"My God, man, you can't be serious, that is in direct violation of every Starfleet code of Conduct, not to mention the Prime Directive," McCoy responded.

"We have all been on this ship long enough to know that the Prime Directive is more like a series of guidelines than a hard law of space travel," Jim responded.

"Indeed, but assassination? We cannot be asked to do that, surely there is someone that we can petition," Nyota started

"No, I tried. These orders have been voted on and agreed upon by Starfleet Command, as I said, we don't have a choice. This is a top secret mission, no one but us and a handful of others even know about it."

"But what if we fail, if we get caught, Jim, they will hold us as terrorist, war criminals. We'll be tortured, tried, hung," McCoy responded.

"Then I guess we can't fail, can we?" Jim responded.

"I'm not doing this. I'm not going to shoot a man in cold blood for political gain," Nyota said shaking her head vehemently.

"Lieutenant Uhura, you're a soldier of Starfleet and you will do this," Jim said with a deathly tone to his voice. She looked away from him and swallowed, the uneasy silence falling over all three of them.

"What do we tell the rest of the crew?" she asked.

"It is none of their business. As far as Starfleet is concerned we are ghosts acting upon our own volition. If we get caught, we are on our own. I intend on succeeding with this mission and getting my damn ship back, the less my crew knows about where I've been and what I've been up to the better and that goes doubly so for Spock, understood?" Jim responded. Nyota nodded, understanding.

"Well, we better get back to doing what we need to do then," McCoy responded, picking up his ruck sack from the ground and strapping it to his back. Uhura stood and picked up her sniper rifle, exhaling a long breath of frustration.

"Let's see if we can get this one under two minutes, and no mistakes. Computer, restart program, level high."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: And now for Chapter 2. This is full of techno babble at the beginning, sorry if you're not into that, but it was necessary. Adelphia is a Bajoran and very technical, and I think that it's important for her to seem kind of like a strict bad ass. She does kind of come off as a bitch, but at the end of this chapter there is reason why. There is also an appearance of Stuvek (who, if you will read the rest of my story is the name I give Spock Prime). Also, sorry for the major story breaks, but there is a lot happening in this chapter and I needed to get it in before everything kind of slows down in Chapter 3. Other than that not much warning. Please Read and Review, I crave, crave, crave reviews, they fuel the machine! Again, I do not own these characters (except Adelphia and Nost) so please don't sue me.**

Chapter 2

The Enterprise was turned, for lack of better phrasing, topsy-turvy under the command of Captain Adelphia. It wasn't that the Bajoran was a bad leader; it was just that the laid back way that the Enterprise had been run for the last three years was being changed. And change is something that a crew of a star ship hated more than Andorian shingles. Adelphia wasn't rude, but she was brash and when she wanted something done she wanted it done her way. She micromanaged and lorded over the crew like a mother hen. It was her ship and therefore her prerogative. At this moment she was giving almost impossible orders to a flustered Montgomery Scott and a slightly calmer Spock.

"Sir, the Enterprise's main relays are not made to handle that kind of structure," Scotty pleaded with Adelphia; she looked in the Scottish man's face and arched a stern eyebrow.

"I am aware of the Enterprise's current structure and it is not good enough. We will be deep in the Beta Quadrant and if these negotiations go negatively I want this ship loaded for bear Mr. Scott. Additionally, Commander Spock, I want these consoles to be used for weapons and damage control from now on, see that they are manned at all times. How long until we officially arrive at the Beta Quadrant?" she said turning to a yeoman to sign off on three PADDS but she was talking to Spock.

"Seventeen point three five hours, Captain," Spock responded.

"Schedule four battle drills. Run a series of simulated Romulan attacks, one for each squadron. I want you to perform the task yourself, alright Mr. Spock. Get it done," she said turning on one heel and shouting over her shoulder, "Mr. Scott, you're with me."

Scotty hopped to behind her not quite falling in step. The bridge was left uncomfortably silent as everyone, including the XO scrambled to get the Enterprise ready for the rendezvous with the Romulans.

Scotty finally fell into step behind Captain Adelphia as they made their way down to engineering. She climbed into a Jeffrie's Tube along with a flash light. Scotty was impressed with the lanky woman's dexterity and gumption; it usually took major coaxing to get Jim to climb through a Jeffrie's tube. This woman wanted to know this ship inside and out, and strangely Scotty thought that she already did.

"The warp coils are below satisfactory," She said walking towards the main engineering consoles.

"Warp coil functions are well within specifications, Captain," Scotty responded.

"I am not interested in specifications, Mr. Scott; I need them raised by at least twenty percent."

"Twenty percent? That is well within understanding, Captain but that will entail taking the secondary distribution grid offline. We'd have to shut down all of our research labs."

"We are not on a research mission; get it done in ten hours, Mr. Scott."

"I suppose if we utilize the whole engineering staff we could accomplish that, but that is if everyone works around the clock for the next ten hours and most of my people are going on less than three hours sleep as is, Captain."

"Then it seems as if you have some work to do, Mr. Scott. Do not let me down," she said and exited engineering.

* * *

><p>Spock entered the ready room of Captain Adelphia and stood stock straight waiting for her to acknowledge him. She turned and smirked at her first officer and offered him entrance.<p>

"Commander, good, I wanted to speak with you about the crew dossiers. I need to make some changes." she asked.

"I came to see you on another matter concerning crew morale, Captain. It seems as if the change of command has caused a certain shift downward with the whole crew. It has been difficult for many of the crew to manage with the new changes. Most of the crew has been under the command of Captain Kirk for the last three years and the sudden modifications have been jarring," Spock didn't know how else to phrase his words.

"I have noticed some resistance," Adelphia responded.

"It has been brought to my attention that perhaps all the crew needs is some time to _get to know you, _as it were."

"Commander Spock, unfortunately I do not have time to honeymoon with my crew. You and I know very well that this mission is of the upmost importance. However, seeing as crew morale is also of central importance and you seem to be vested in the idea of improving it, I would have you take up this task. I should hope that you will be able to adjust the crew within the time allotted so that everyone will be ready for our negotiations," she said not looking up at him and working on some crew dossiers.

"Yes Captain, I will add this to my already long list of things that must be completed within the next ten hours," Spock responded with a limited amount of snark.

"I see that the crew dossiers will have to wait, you are dismissed Commander," she said and then looked up before he exited, "Commander one more thing."

Spock stopped; he was holding his hands to his sides and squeezing his fists into tight balls of frustration.

"Yes Captain?" Spock said turning those fists into sleek palms that he held carefully behind his back standing at ease.

"As you have no doubt observed, I run a pretty tight ship, and I am of the understanding that you are in a romantic relationship with another member of this crew, Lieutenant Uhura," she stopped working on her dossiers and stood from her desk.

"That is correct, sir," Spock responded with only a small twitch of his eyebrow.

"Now seeing as she is not in your direct chain of command there is no violation of the Starfleet Code of Conduct, however, in times such as these when tensions run high many things such as fleeting romance can stand in the way of completing our tasks. I should hope this is not going to be a problem," She said staring him directly in his eyes and walking over. Spock didn't move. He was highly offended. He was Vulcan, how could anyone let alone a new Captain of this crew assume that he would allow his emotions to compromise his ability to do his job? And to refer to his relationship to Nyota as fleeting almost caused the Vulcan to grumble.

"I have never allowed my relationship with the Lieutenant to compromise my job performance, Sir," Spock responded.

"No, of course not, but you have been emotionally compromised in the past," she responded.

"Indeed, I have been," he could not deny it; his emotional outburst was a part of Starfleet record.

"Commander, you come highly recommended from your peers and Starfleet Command. You are A highly decorated officer and a Vulcan, which I know that your people adhere to logic above all else. But we are to be dealing with Romulans in the next ten hours and I do not want any old wounds to be opened, understood?" she said more than asked.

"Yes sir," Spock turned on one heel and exited the ready room. When he entered the Bridge, he was met by Montgomery Scott and Sulu who followed him down the hallway protesting the whole way.

"Commander, she has made me to make majors changes in the warp coils, upgrade weapons systems and has transferred half of my unit to security," Scott responded.

"She also requested that I start performing these unbelievably difficult emergency evasive drills that the Enterprise in any state will be almost impossible to do," Sulu said, both keeping pace with Spock's long strides down the hallway.

"You two are not the only ones that have been called upon to make changes," Spock responded, not stopping his pace.

"I do not mind making changes, but Captain Adelphia does not understand that I do not have the man power or the time in which to do them," Scotty responded and stopped.

"Someone needs to talk with her, Spock," Sulu stopped in the hallway next to Scotty.

"She has made it abundantly clear that it will not be me," Spock responded stopping along with the two other men.

"Then talk to Kirk, maybe he can get through to her," Sulu added. Spock nodded and continued his pace down the hallway, heading towards Kirk's quarters leaving Sulu and Scotty in the hallway to stare at his back

Kirk was tired. Not the normal tired he felt from commanding a ship, not a normal tired from a fifteen mile run. No, Kirk was the broke-down, beat up, rode hard and put up wet kind of tired. He was so tired in fact, that he couldn't even remove his black combat boots from his sweaty and swollen feet. He only sat on his couch and stared at the wall hoping that the wall would say something back to him. He heard a beep at his door and somehow managed to screech out entrance so that the computer would allow the person to enter.

It was Spock.

"Are you alright, sir?" Spock asked, looking at his former Captain. Kirk looked red and tired, his body and hair wet with sweat. His whole aura that was usually jovial was black and usurped. Spock instantly regretted even coming to Kirk's room.

"Yes. It's just the last time I trained this hard I was doing space diving training at the Academy. How can I help you, Spock?" Kirk said shifting on the sofa and trying to hide the pain that racked his body. Spock shifted his weight from one foot to another, trying to figure out if he should talk with Kirk about Adelphia or not. The Vulcan decided against it.

"It is nothing urgent, I am sorry to bother you. Good night," Spock responded and exited quickly before Kirk could stop him.

* * *

><p>Kirk sat with Adelphia in his former ready room, noticing that she'd completely changed the furniture. A pang of jealousy shot through him, but he bore it down realizing that the Enterprise was not his ship any longer and that there was nothing that he or anyone else could do about that. Kirk was still wearing his Captain's gold Starfleet uniform, though a Captain without a ship was a sad thing. Kirk was seated across from Adelphia in a chair; Adelphia was behind a massive desk. Needless to say, the scene was not lost on Kirk, once the leader now the follower.<p>

"My orders are to retain radio silence for the duration of the mission," Kirk said to Adelphia.

"The Enterprise will be monitoring your frequency just in case you need to transmit a signal," Adelphia.

"**Bridge to Captain Adelphia, we have arrived at the shuttle departure coordinates,**" Spock's voice echoed over the radio console in the ready room.

"Did you launch the probe as I ordered?" Adelphia asked.

"**Yes sir, I wasn't aware that you wanted to be informed**," Spock responded.

"Thank you, Adelphia out," she shook her head in frustration, "I still cannot see why you would keep him as your first officer," Adelphia responded.

"Captain, I would just like you to know that Commander Spock…" Kirk started.

"I've read your reports, James, I know that you think highly of him," she cut him off.

"It is not just my opinion. Spock has been decorated by Starfleet command over five times; he was offered his own ship more than once. I think that if you just gave him a chance that you would find him an outstanding officer," Kirk smiled at the Bajoran. She leaned across the desk and stretched her hands forward entangling her fingers together.

"James, let's be candid for a moment, the Romulans have put us into a volatile position, and the Federation is ready to meet some of their demands, but not all of them. Chances are that you will not be returning from this mission of yours and I want this ship ready for battle. I do not have time to give Commander Spock or anyone for that matter a _chance_ right now. And forgive me for being blunt, but the Enterprise is mine now," she said letting her words fall into the tensioned silence of the room. Kirk didn't look her; he focused on the desk in front of him and thought on her words. He let the silence etch across the room and swallowed deeply. She stood wiping her hands on her thighs and offered him her hand.

"Well, Good luck on your mission," she said. Kirk stood and took her hand shaking it firmly.

"Thank you," Kirk exited the ready room and headed back to his quarters to grab his things and change to depart on the shuttle craft.

* * *

><p>Nyota was dressed in her black special ops gear and grabbing her ruck sack when Spock entered her quarters. She looked up knowing intrinsically that it was him and only stopped slightly in her preparation of her gear to acknowledge him. She had ten minutes to meet at the Galileo but she did want to say goodbye to Spock. He waited patiently for her to say something but when she didn't, he walked over to her and grabbed her into his arms, hugging her closely. She could feel his emotions though their link; he was more than worried.<p>

"Spock, I will be back," she said, echoing the words he'd said to her those three years ago on the teleporter before he left. He kissed her and didn't want to let her go. He didn't want to lose another woman to a Romulan.

"No matter what may befall you, Nyota, I will come for you. Even if I have to kill every Romulan guard that stands in my way, you will come back safely to the Enterprise," Spock vowed.

"I know, that is why I am not worried," she kissed him again and pulled away, "I have to go." He walked with her towards the Gallileo seeing Jim, McCoy and Captain Adelphia standing awaiting their departure. Adelphia eyed Spock and Lieutenant Uhura with obvious disapproval, but said nothing. Uhura boarded the Gallileo with the other two men and the shuttle departed. After a moment or so of silence, Adelphia spoke.

"Commander Spock, we need to prepare for the Romulan delegation, let's get back to work." She took off in the direction of the Bridge and Spock followed quickly behind her.

* * *

><p>The atmosphere in the Gallileo was tense to say the least. Kirk was piloting the shuttle carefully deep into the Beta Quadrant towards a small planet on the outskirts of Romulus known as D2912. Uhura and McCoy were sitting quietly awaiting more orders and a better clarification from Jim as to what they were going to be doing, how their training was going to directly come into terms. Jim put the shuttle on autopilot for a moment and turned to look at his small team.<p>

"Ok, now that we are underway, I can go into deeper detail. Our heading is D2912, it is a small disputed planet in Romulan air space and a known vacation spot for D'Nal Tomolaak. We are essentially going to break into his compound, which is built into a cavern," Jim said pulling up a small schematic of the compound on screen, "McCoy you're going to set up charges here and here. Forgive me, but this schematic is two years old, our intel couldn't get anything newer."

"Of course they couldn't," McCoy responded.

"Lieutenant, once we've repelled down into the cavern and set the charges we're going to split up. You're going to climb your way up this side of the cavern and up topside until you get to this limitedly exposed citadel, of course you know what to do from there, eliminate any Romulan you see that includes women and children. McCoy and I will make our way through the compound setting charges along the way. The target's room is here, we are to set charges in and around the room exit undetected and blow the compound to smithereens and then get our asses back to the Gallileo, pronto. We rendezvous with the Enterprise in fourteen hours at these coordinates. Everybody got that?" Jim asked.

"Yes sir," Uhura and McCoy said in unison.

"Good. If all goes well, we'll be back in time for a late dinner and poker game."

"I may be wrong, Jim, but won't the Romulans notice a Federation shuttle docking in their airspace?" McCoy asked.

"That has been taken care of as well, by an old friend of the Federation," Jim responded.

"The Federation has many friends, don't they?" Uhura asked rhetorically.

"Indeed, Lieutenant, they do. We have to make a pit stop, ETA one hour. So, relax, we have a long journey ahead of us," Jim said, turning to take the shuttle off of auto pilot and easing his way into the vast, smooth darkness of space.

Within one hour they were arriving at an even smaller planet on the borders of the neutral zone of Federation and Romulan airspace. The three of them changed into civilian clothing and exited onto the small planet. It was a dark red planet that reminded Nyota of Vulcan. It was arid in climate with large crumbling rocks and wild calls of animals that sounded like lemataya to their ears. Where they landed exactly was a small port of call that of course had a bar. The bar was filled with aliens and humanoids, Ferengi, Cardassians, Andorians, Romulans and one lone man sitting at a table in a very dark corner. Kirk approached the table and the other two followed him.

"Is this seat taken?" Kirk asked alerting the inhabitant of the table with a sign.

"There are no other seats available and I need the company," a familiar voice responded under a dark hooded cloak with the call sign. Kirk and the others had a seat. The man didn't remove his hooded cloak but Uhura knew who he was immediately, it was Ambassador Spock or Stuvek as he was being called in this reality. She gasped outwardly and sat down.

"Stuvek, do you have access to the transport?" Jim whispered.

"Indeed I do, Jim. Have a drink in order to seem cordial and then we will head to the back of the facility and beam up to where it is docked."

"Two Fire Teas and a shot of Jack for the lady," Jim said, all three of them drinking quickly. Within a matter of twenty minutes they were exiting the facility and headed towards a transport pad and beaming aboard a Romulan vessel that was cloaked in orbit. It was only then that Stuvek removed his hooded cloak and set about taking the ship out of orbit.

"We will be arriving at D2912 within the hour, Captain," Stuvek said.

"How in God's name did you happen to acquire a Romulan War Bird?" McCoy asked, flabbergasted.

"The Vulcan High Council confiscated it from a group of Ferengi that were trying to steal it away from a ship yard," Stuvek responded.

"Of course they did," Mccoy said, rolling his eyes and finding a chair to sit in. Uhura was already sitting and very closely to the man that she knew as Spock, but the older version of her lover that she knew was a light year away. She sighed and Stuvek turned to look at her, the soft wrinkles of his eyes curving a bit much like her Spock's did when he smiled. She smiled back in return.

"I am going to be honest with all of you; we are no longer under the protection of the Federation. If we should fail in our task, Stuvek you are to return as if nothing has happened and to destroy the Gallileo. There is a very high chance that we may never return to the Enterprise, if either of us is caught do not play the hero, save yourself and get back to this ship and to the Enterprise, understood?" Jim responded.

"Yes Captain," McCoy and Uhura responded in unison. Nyota hung her head thinking about what Spock had said to her earlier. He would come for her, no matter what, he would find her. She knew that it would be too difficult for him to do that.

"He will come for you, no matter how dangerous it is. I would," Stuvek whispered to her. She nodded and sat in silence forcing those thoughts to the back of her mind and concentrating on the mission at hand.

A series of beeps from the autopilot alerted them that they had arrived at D2912 cloaked and free from any Romulan approaching ships. Stuvek beamed the group down to the coordinates given by Jim and all three landed safely in a dank, dark cavern underneath the compound of D'Nal Tomolaak. Just like the holodeck training this cavern was hot and full of Tenuvian cave bats, dripping stalactites and roiling geysers. Every step was wrought with danger and all three were instantly glad that they'd trained as thoroughly as they had. They made it through the first part of the cave, setting charges correctly within two minutes, but came upon a portion that hadn't been in the holodeck training or on the two year old schematic.

In front of them was a crevice that reached even deeper into the planet's core. It seemed as if there had been a small quake and the core shift had left a gaping 500 foot drop that they would all have to repel down in order to reach the lower level safely. Luckily, they had come prepared and reached into their ruck sacks and pulled out their climbing and repelling gear. They repelled quickly, but safely down the drop and landed onto the lower level underneath the heart of the compound. The air was thick so far deep and it was so dark and humid that either of them could stomach it. Uhura's head was swimming and McCoy could barely breathe, Jim was reporting headaches, but they trudged on. Finally they arrived to a clearing that had a large open ceiling and a small peal of light shown through; it was a way to the surface. There was a built in craggy stair case of stone and rock that was easily crumbling from centuries of ware, all three climbed up slowly as to not set off an avalanche. When they reached the top of the landing they were still in darkness but could see an exit towards the light of the topside of the compound and a smaller door that headed towards the citadel.

"Looks like this is where you get off, Lieutenant, our coms are open just let us know when you've reached the top and we'll start moving," Jim said. Uhura nodded and entered the citadel door and started to climb and even older set of stair.

"Jim, just how crazy is this mission?" McCoy asked.

"The craziest, Bones, the craziest," Jim responded.

It only took her three minutes to reach the top of the citadel, a full thirty seconds less than in the holodeck practice, when she'd set up her rifle she reported in on her com and the two men set to work on reaching topside. She could see them in her sights as they moved undetected through the Romulan compound. There was no sight of any Romulan guard and thankfully no women and children, and Uhura felt blessed that she didn't have to shoot someone in the head just yet like in her training. Both McCoy and Kirk made it successfully into the compound, so Uhura turned her sights to one of the open windows of the known rooms of Tomolaak. She watched as Kirk and McCoy set up charges around the perimeter of the room her hand poised on the trigger should anyone enter at that moment. The men were just about to exit the compound the way they'd entered when she saw three Romulan guards accost them. Three shots rang out and the guards fell, Jim and McCoy moved their asses quickly, running from the room and down a staircase that Uhura knew existed but couldn't see from her place in the citadel. She stayed poised in her place, knowing that they would make it down, but what she saw was only McCoy and not Jim. McCoy was being chased by two other guards and she shot them quickly, packed up her sniper rifle and headed down the stairs. Jim would make it, he had to.

"**They have Jim, move your ass gorgeous. I'll meet you at the ship,**" McCoy said, almost to the point of the 500 foot crevice when he'd spoken to her on the com. She was running as quickly as she could down the stairs of the citadel, but not fast enough. When she exited the door there was a Romulan guard standing in front of her. She wasn't going to give up, she took the butt of her sniper rifle and smacked the guard in the jaw, and she could that it had become unhinged. She knew that it was impossible to fight him off without any help; he was going to be at least six times stronger than her. So, while the guard was doubled over in pain, she ran as fast as her feet could carry her. There were phasers being shot off behind her causing rocks to drop in front and behind her as she hustled through the deep cavern. She almost made it to the second set of steps that led to the cavern when a phaser blast hit her squarely in the back. Uhura fell face first down two of the steps and then everything went blurry and dark.

* * *

><p>"Captain, the Romulan dignitaries have arrived," Spock said, "they are waiting in the Observation room."<p>

"Thank you Commander, could you please meet me in my ready room," Adelphia responded and then exited the Bridge to her ready room. Spock followed and entered looking at her strangely.

"Is there some miscommunication, Captain, did you want me to escort the Romulans to your ready room?" Spock asked.

"No, I wish to speak with you, about a personal matter, please have a seat," she said reaching her hand out in the first cordial gesture she'd shown him, he sat and she did as well across from him. Spock waited silently for her to speak.

"I was remiss today in bringing forth your previous record with regards to being emotionally compromised. I would like to apologize for that," she said.

"Apology is not needed, Captain," Spock said.

"It is and I will explain why. As you know I orchestrated the treaty with the Romulans over air space, but that was years before the tragedy at Vulcan," her eyes darted wildly about the room and Spock knew that she was trying to be open with him about something that had been bothering her since her arrival, "I know that I have been less that yielding since my arrival and I am grateful that you pointed out this oversight to me. However, this mission is extremely important to me."

"As it is to Starfleet, Captain, we all have our orders, I understand completely."

"Oh Commander Spock, it is more than that. This mission is very personal, you see. What my Starfleet record does not indicate is that I married a Vulcan named Nost. He wasn't froma regal family like yours , just a simple science researcher on a terraformed moon in the Delta Quadrant, he enjoyed studying plants," she didn't look at him but smiled wistfully as if remembering his face.

"I see," Spock was slowly starting to understand what she was getting at.

"I, being raised in the Cardassian war camps and parted from my parents at a young age had no one but Nost and we fell deeply in love. We married in San Francisco while I was on shore leave and shortly after he went to tell his parents of the great news so that we could be bonded on Vulcan as well. Nost arrived the same day that Nero did, he didn't make it out," she paused, swallowed deeply and then looked Spock plainly in the eyes.

"I do not say this for your pity, because you lost more than I did. I only tell you this so that you can understand how important it is for the Romulans to become a part of the Federation. Nero was only one Romulan, Mr. Spock. D'Nal Tomolaak has the support of more than fifty percent of his people and this will just not do. No one wants to lose another planet, all those people to the will of just one, lone, man. Before Nost died, he discussed with me about a small percentage of Romulans and Vulcans that wanted to deliberate on Unification and making that possibility into a reality. Ever since his death, I have tried my best to make those last vestiges of a dream come true. Romulus joining the Federation is just the beginning, but what we do today will save generations and hopefully bring peace to our posterity. Do you understand, Mr. Spock?" she said standing and straightening her uniform.

"I understand more than you will ever know, Captain Adelphia," he said, also standing. He offered her the Vulcan salute, "Live long and Prosper, ko-kai (sister)."

"Peace and Long Life, sa-kai (brother)," she said and walked out of the ready room with Spock tightly on her heels.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thanks to all that read and reviewed. Just a warning! This chapter starts off with an attempted rape, so you've been officially warned. Don't worry, everything is going to be alright.**

Chapter 3

Her eyes fluttered open to a searing pain in her head and a garish, bright light shining in her eyes. Her body felt heavy as she tried to crack her neck on her shoulder and it wasn't until some long minutes that she noticed that her hands were tied above her and that she was hanging prone. She made a noise akin to a moan from the searing pain she felt radiating in her head and tried to kick her legs, the only part of her that was loosed.

"You're awake, I see," said a masculine voice coming from behind the blindingly white light. It moved, but she still could only make out a large silhouette as the man moved around the light. She didn't respond, only tried to make out the creature that was addressing her. For a split second she wondered where she was, and then like a clear shot from a bullet reality came crashing down quickly. She had been running and hit by phaser fire and had tumbled down a craggy flight of rocky steps, which would account for the headache and sensitivity to the light that she was now experiencing. If she'd fallen down those steps that would mean that she was now a prisoner to the Romulans, and that their mission had failed.

"You are no doubt, full of questions as to your whereabouts. I supposed, I could answer them. But first, I have questions of my own," the man moved forward, turning off the light and revealing a large, muscular Romulan to Uhura's strained eyes. He had broad shoulders and an astute nose, bald head, and the customary tattoo that all Romulans received at birth. Uhura recognized this man as the intended target, D'Nal Tomolaak.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked. She didn't say anything, she only nodded and strained against her bindings as he neared her, "then you have me at a disadvantage, as I have not been acquainted with your name." He walked up to her, almost to the full height of her body as it was, dangling from a hook in the middle of a dark, cold room. She didn't look at him, frightened by his tone and voice and she didn't want to show him, so she inhaled and tried to relax, ceasing to struggle against her bonds.

He pulled her chin down, inspecting her and making her look at him and she regarded him with steely eyes full of disdain. His tongue clicked as if in judgment and when he pulled his hands away, Nyota could see that his hand was covered in her sticky, red blood. She must have scraped her face from the fall down the stairs.

"Such a beautiful face," he said again.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked. He sneaked around her, sliding his hands up to the tie in her hair and grabbing roughly. She gasped from the pain and then felt her long, thick hair fall from the messy knot that it was fixed in. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders and she heard him take a long smell from her. And then she saw his face, he was back in front of her so quickly, ripping her thin, blood-stained tank from her body and then she felt her pants being stripped down her legs in a flash. She wasn't naked, not yet. She still had on a thin pair of underwear and a small bra, but the bra was ripped away in a flash, leaving her only in the small panties. He leaned in closely and smelled her, starting at the side of her face, where the scrapes on her face were clotting, and reaching lower to her neck and then under her arms and then down the middle of her breasts to her navel. Before he reached lower, he eased his way back up on her body and whispered in her ear:

"That is entirely up to you. I could humiliate you, beat you, torture you, rape you, kill you, as you tried to do me. I could make you a part of my harem," he said testing the weight of her hair, "I do not have a human female as of yet and as I understand it, they make a very brave noise though the bodies are weak. I have the sneaking suspicion that you could handle it," he smiled devilishly.

"What do you want?" Nyota asked her voice a little above a whisper. Tomolaak chuckled.

"Tell me why you are here, who sent you?" Tomolaak asked. Uhura gathered all of her courage. She was never, ever to reveal who sent her. Name, Rank, date of birth that was all she was at liberty to divulge.

"Nyota Uhura, Lieutenant Starship Enterprise, Date of Birth April 22," she responded with computer like efficiency. This response didn't make him happy. With a flick of his wrist, he ripped her underwear from her with ease and lowered his nose to smell her. She was humiliated, frightened, but she didn't let on. If this was going to happen, she was going to be the soldier that Starfleet had trained her to be. Her first responsibility was to the Federation, to the Enterprise. But in the back of her mind, she wondered if Spock would ever forgive her, if he could ever comprehend the complexity of this situation. She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as Tomolaak pushed her thighs apart and leaned into her. She could feel his arousal tenting his pants and feel his overly warm tongue lace its way between her breast and down over her left nipple…

And then he stopped and pulled himself away, turning away from her with brute force and disgust, but with him or her she didn't know which. Tomolaak was breathing heavily and so was she. Both of them had been so sure of Tomolaak's treachery, and yet he just stopped, he couldn't do it. She didn't want to exhale just yet; he may have it in him to commence his raping of her, she was still naked and vulnerable.

"You are marked," Tomolaak said finally, holding his hand up to his lips and turning only slightly looking her. He pointed to her left breast with disbelief in his eyes and underneath the slope of the modest bosom next to her mole was a healing tooth mark that she affectionately referred to as Spock's favorite spot. Of all the places on her body, this is where Spock enjoyed marking her the most.

"I am," her voice wasn't higher than a whisper; she was still so very shocked and frightened.

"Your smell, I knew it wasn't truly human. You smell of a Vulcan, the meditation oils and smoke. You belong to one of my _k'war'ma'khon (Kindred)_,_" _Tomolaak responded in rough Vulcan. Her ears perked at the Romulan speaking Vulcan and what he had called them. Most Romulans didn't feel anything but malice towards Vulcans, let alone call them family. She also didn't enjoy being placed as a belonging to Spock, but in this case she would make an exception.

"Who is this Vulcan? Why would Vulcans want me dead?" Tomolaak seemed as confused as Uhura was. He approached her and let her down from her bonds and then removed his jacket covering her naked form. She ran from him, taking the jacket with him and cowered in the corner away from him.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I never really was. I only meant to scare you, and now I am regretful of that," he said, walking towards the corner she was in and reaching a hand out to her like she was a frightened and caged animal. She eyed him untrustingly and began to cry large raindrop tears. He lowered himself on his haunches and grabbed her slight frame to him tenderly, picking her up and calling in his guards over the com:

"**Bring our prisoner some clean clothes and food, and bring a derma-kit to tend to her wounds,"** Tomolaak said.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because, what belongs to my_ k'war'ma'khon,_ I am sworn to keep safe," Tomolaak said setting her down on a small cot on the other side of the room and letting her rest.

* * *

><p>Spock and Adelphia entered the Observation room to two angry Romulan council members. The council members had been waiting for close to half an hour and were both perturbed. Adelphia viewed the men with steely eyes and Spock's face remained pristine as one of the council members, Avarak, rolled on about being kept waiting.<p>

"How dare you?" Avarak asked.

"Do you honestly think that you're the only concern that I have aboard this ship?" Adelphia asked, losing all diplomacy for now. There was no way that a Romulan was going to force her hand on her ship.

"I have never, in all of my days, been kept waiting," Avarak responded dramatically.

"There is a first time for everything," Spock responded coolly. Avarak eyed the Vulcan with malice and disdain, gritting his teeth and greening at the ears.

"Put a leash on your Vulcan dog or I swear that these talks will turn ill," Avarak responded. His aide turned a head and swallowed deeply. Adelphia looked at Spock with a source of camaraderie, not believing that the Vulcan was capable of being as droll and sarcastic as he was. They both sat, causing Avarak to calm quickly. There was silence in the room as all parties calmed themselves.

"Have you had word from your people on D2912?" the aid asked.

"Not as of yet, but we should be hearing of word shortly," Adelphia responded calmly, "until then, I think we should discuss the terms of your arrangement with the Federation."

"Terms? We cannot discuss anything until we know for sure that Tomolaak is indeed dead," Avarak responded. Spock's ears perked at this. The Vulcan had assumed as much about the dangers of the missions but the reality of the situation finally dawned on him. Spock didn't outwardly show his concern but was inwardly troubled at the thought that his friends and beloved were put into harm's way for these ungrateful Romulans.

"We are not here to discuss that situation. I must know what you seek first," Adelphia said grabbing hold of her diplomacy. Spock had to acquiesce to Adelphia's form; Jim was a wonderful leader, but when it came to sensitive negotiation strategies his previous captain was lacking. Adelphia was controlling her internal turmoil quite well. Avarak was flummoxed and turned to look to his aide for guidance. The smaller Romulan eyed his boss with warning and caution. Avarak leaned forward and crossed his hands in front of him as if he were praying, leaning his lips against his hands.

"We seek asylum of course from the forth coming destruction of our planet. We are also interested in adding the previously discussed clause about direct access to the Federations latinum mines" Avarak said.

"You already have mines, and do you not have Bajoran and Andorians in your mines?" Adelphia asked.

"We do, but everyone that labors in our mines is granted a generous compensation, excepting those that are criminals."

"And how many of those criminals are Romulan?"

"More than fifty percent, do not waste my time, Adelphia, you know the terms of this agreement as well as I. Now, I wish to know the status of Tomolaak's health. I will not sign on behalf of my brethren until then," Avarak stated firmly. Adelphia eyed the Romulan warily and pressed the com still staring at Avarak.

"**Sulu, what is the status of our away team?"** she asked over the com.

**"Captain, I was just informed of the arrival of the Gallileo. Only one has made it back, Dr. McCoy," **Sulu responded with notes of solemnity in his voice. Adelphia looked at Spock and stood quickly, straightening her uniform.

**"Please have him taken to sick bay; we will join shortly for debriefing, Adelphia out." **She swallowed deeply knowing that the mission hadn't gone as planned.

"Gentlemen, you will need to excuse me," Adelphia responded.

"Are we to be left waiting?" Avarak asked, perturbed.

"You are to be left waiting as long as I see fit," Adelphia said turning towards the Romulan with cold, heartless eyes before exiting. Spock exited after her without a word. Once they were safely down the hall outside of Romulan hearing distance, Adelphia whispered to Spock.

"Go debrief McCoy, I will meet you in my ready room," she said and both parted ways in the hallway.

Spock's heart was fluttering in his side. Nyota was not on the Gallileo, which meant that she was still located on the Romulan planet D2912. Romulan's were not known for their niceties when it came to terrorist and Federation troops. The Romulans would sooner kill their prisoners than waste the time in torturing them. He and Nyota were not bonded, so he couldn't feel the fluttering of her mind inside of his and therefore unsure of her safety. The thought of her being in imminent danger almost caused him to stagger in the hallway down to sickbay.

Upon entering the medical bay, Spock saw McCoy's sad eyes. The Doctor looked haggard with his usually lustrous hair dusty gray from the falling rocks of the cave, and his face covered in black soot. But McCoy was unharmed in any other way. McCoy locked eyes with Spock instantly and Spock could tell by McCoy's face that the news was not good.

"I assume you're here to debrief me," McCoy said, easing a derma kit over a scratch on his left arm.

"Your assumption is correct," Spock responded.

"I don't know what happened, Spock. Everything was going to plan and then it all fell to shit. We must have tripped a silent alarm, because one minute we were setting charges around the room and the next minute we were being chased down by Romulan guards. Uhura got off a couple of shots and even killed some of the guards. But when I exited the compound Jim wasn't behind me. I got in radio contact with her and told her to meet me at the War Bird that we took in, but when I got there she…" he paused, his throat thick with black soot from the cave and worry, "she didn't make it back."

McCoy's eyes were heavy with shame. All the senior crew on the Enterprise considered themselves a big brother to Uhura, they were like family. And to know that he couldn't save her was more than McCoy could bear. The Doctor had given bad news to people, but never to Spock before. The Vulcan had lost so much in his life – his planet, his mother- that having to say that Uhura was gone was physically making McCoy sick. The doctor hung his head in disgrace, not being able to stare Spock in the face.

"Do you know if Jim or Nyota survived?" Spock asked.

"I don't know," McCoy squeaked out, his tongue thick and heavy with pain and soot. The doctor rubbed his dirty hands down his dirty face to keep from shedding the tears that were weighty in his eyes.

"So they could still be alive?" Spock asked.

"It's possible."

"Then we need to start formulating a way to get them. Thank you McCoy, please once you are cleaned and changed meet with me and Captain Adelphia in her ready room," Spock said, turning on his heel and heading towards the exit of the medical bay.

"I'm sorry Spock," McCoy said. Spock stopped but didn't turn.

"There is no time to rethink your actions now, McCoy. The only thing that can be done is to devise a plan to get them out," Spock said and made his way to the Captain's ready room.

* * *

><p>She woke up on a soft mattress underneath and an even softer duvet cover over her. The room she was in was bathed in sunlight that was warming her brown skin from half-closed shutters. She sat up quickly, thinking that she was dreaming and then she saw Tomolaak sitting in a chair across from her. She curled tighter up against the head of bed and stared at him with more fear than she had when she was in the cell. He didn't move, only held up a small tray of what looked to be food, a bowl of something piping hot as noted by the steam and a milky liquid in a glass.<p>

"Are you hungry?" he asked, his deep baritone resonating around the room. She calmed but only a bit. She was hungry, famished actually. Her headache was gone and she reached her hand up to her face to feel where the scrapes had been, the spot was slightly tender but she couldn't feel any pain nor did her hand return any blood. She leaned over to see herself in a large mirror that was hanging on the wall next to the bed; there was no scrape or scratch noticeable.

"I could not let such a face as yours be marred by anything. I am sworn to keep you safe," Spock responded.

"Sworn to whom?" she asked. He walked over to her and set the tray on the bed and sitting. She grabbed the bowl and started to devour the soup quickly.

"Easy, it is very hot," he said, watching her with care in his eyes.

"Why am I in this room? Shouldn't I still be in a cell?"

"I can switch you if you wish," Tomolaak said smiling.

"It doesn't matter to me," she responded, finishing the soup and putting the empty bowl back on the tray.

"I do like your spunk, so much like a Romulan woman," he said, removing the tray from the bed but handing her the glass, "drink, it will help with your recovery. It is Romulan goat's milk, it has many nutrients and I breed them here on my farm."

"Why are you helping me?" she said, taking a sip of the milk warily.

"I need a favor from you," he responded.

"I tried to kill you," she responded.

"The irony is not lost on me, believe me. And yet, we find ourselves at an impasse," he chuckled. He was a jovial and cordial man, despite how he'd been portrayed. He didn't seem like a dissident, but Uhura knew that his type was manipulative, even more so as a Romulan.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, feeling actually refreshed after drinking the milk and eating the food. She figured that she owed him at least the time to hear him out for treating her better than a prisoner.

"Do you believe that there are two sides to every story?" he asked.

"At least," she responded.

"Good, then you are reasonable."

"Go on."

"I assume that the Federation wants to kill me because I stand against the Romulans becoming part of the Federation?" Tomolaak said, Uhura didn't respond so he continued, "What the Federation doesn't understand is that I do not stand against the Empire becoming a part of the Federation. What I am for, however, is Unification with our Vulcan ancestors; I want the teaching of Surak to be blended with that of our own teachings. Vulcans and Romulans share common ancestry, and now that Vulcans need us more than ever, we must unify or our cultures will be lost."

"You stand for Unification?" Uhura asked, shocked beyond belief.

"Yes, as do many other Romulans, but our High Council is against it."

"Why?"

"The High Council wants to join the Federation in order to take monopoly over the latinum mining contracts. They also wish to use the very poor of this planet as free laborers-slaves- in the mines. I cannot stand for that. I believe that if the Romulans are going to enter into the Federation, it should be for the people and not for just our rich." His eyes were earnest and true. He seemed to be completely genuine in telling Uhura this and yet there was something niggling in her mind about if this was the truth.

"How can I trust you?" she asked. He stood from the bed and grabbed the tray. He started for the door and looked at her before he stepped out of it.

"Because when I had the chance to rape you, I didn't. Would you have done the same for me had you had the chance to kill me?" he turned and exited the door.

* * *

><p>"Mr. McCoy, you're saying that you saw Captain Kirk get caught and that you never saw what happened to Lieutenant Uhura?" Adelphia asked. McCoy was standing stock still in front of her desk in her ready room and answered her succinctly.<p>

"Yes sir. Before we even arrived on the planet, Captain Kirk told both me and Lieutenant Uhura not to save him if he was captured. Our only orders were to make it back to rendezvous with the Enterprise if the mission failed. I would have returned to rescue him had I not been following explicit orders. When I reached the Romulan War Bird that we took into the compound I waited for exactly five minutes for Lieutenant Uhura. I called her on her com and she never responded, and then I left."

"Thank you, Mr. McCoy, that will be all," Adelphia said. McCoy eased his posture and started to leave the door.

"I believe that we should try to form a search party, Captain. They could still be alive," McCoy responded.

"You are dismissed Doctor," she responded coldly. He turned and exited without another word.

"Do you not agree with him?" Spock asked.

"The away team is no longer Starfleet, and we both know how Romulans treat their captives. Romulans would rather kill their captives than keep them alive. Torture is a standard practice but…" she stopped seeing something in Spock that she'd never seen in her former husband. It must have been his eyes, they were so human, and the way they looked was distant and sad. He was thinking about Uhura.

"Commander Spock, there is one thing that we cannot allow ourselves to do, and that is let our attachments to former crew get in the way of these negotiations."

"My judgment is not clouded if that is your meaning, Captain," Spock responded.

"Maybe not clouded but you do seem to have tunnel vision," she said.

"If we have a chance to get them back then I do not see why we should not try to send another team to rescue them."

"The Romulans would be expecting that. I will not risk more crew members for two, especially two who knew the risks of the mission."

"Did they have a choice?" Spock asked.

"They were given orders, and they tried to follow them."

"So they were not given a choice then," Spock responded.

"Commander, they are soldiers and they were following orders. They knew the risks involved in getting captured and now they have been caught."

"Yes, and Starfleet is denying their existence, because the mission was so secret and unethical that now they must be denied,"

"The loss of two crew members is not as important as bringing the Romulans into the Federation. We knew there would be casualties, and we will mourn their losses."

"But both of them will be condemned as terrorist and executed as such. I will not let this happen," Spock felt his blood start to boil and his temperature start to rise.

"Commander, you have no say in this matter. I alone am the Captain and you will do as I say."

"And I am the First Officer; I am here to make sure that you stay true to the Prime Directive and the Code of Conduct of Starfleet. You are morally compromised by this mission, and are forgetting your people Captain," Spock said, feeling like he was about to lose all of his composure.

"You are being insubordinate, Commander Spock, do not make me call security and have you escorted to the Brig." She looked serious as if she would do it. Spock knew that he would be able to fight off security, but he didn't want to risk it. He swallowed his anger momentarily.

"Let us just explore the possibility of getting them back," Spock responded.

"Commander, I…"

"**Captain, we have just received an encrypted transmission coming from the Beta Quadrant. I cannot decode it,**" Lieutenant Alberts said over the communicator. Spock and Adelphia eyed one another and exited to the Bridge.

"Alberts, let me see it," Spock said looking at the strange encoding.

"Is this familiar to you?" Adelphia asked Spock.

"No, it is not computer coding, it seems to be personal. However, it comes from the com channel that we kept open with the away team. I think it may be from Lieutenant Uhura," Spock responded.

"But if we cannot crack the code then how will we read it."

"I know someone who can. Please call Lieutenant Amara-Ran Gaila to the Bridge, Captain," Spock said.

"The Orion?" Adelphia asked skeptically.

"If anyone knows how to break this it would be her," Spock said. Adelphia exhaled and called Gaila to the Bridge. The Orion entered within minutes from the turbolift and was escorted quickly to the communication console.

"Can you crack this code, Lieutenant?" Adelphia asked. Gaila gave the coding a once over and smiled broadly.

"Of course I can. It's the old code that Lieutenant Uhura and I used to use when we were passing messages between PADDS during instructor Spock's class. We made up our own alpha-numeric code that can only be broken if you have the key," she said looking at Spock.

"Where is the key?" Adelphia asked, perplexed.

"In my head, of course," Gaila said her hands sliding quickly over the console as she decoded the message. Encrypted was a video message and as soon as Gaila finished entering the last digit the video sprang to life.

"On screen," Adelphia said and Uhura's face popped up on the large view screen on the Bridge.

_"Captain, Commander, Captain Kirk and I are unharmed. D'Nal Tomolaak has asked me to provide you with this message. He is not going to harm either one of us, but he does need our help. It seems as if the Romulan Council is trying to form an alliance with the Federation under the guise of needing protection, when in all actuality they wish to form a fiscal alliance instead. If the Romulans join the Federation they will have exclusive access to the latinum mines and will subsequently use their poor as free laborers in the mines. Tomolaak is the leader of more than half of the poorest Romulans that wish for Unification with their Vulcan brethren. He is not a dissident or a traitor, but a Savior to his people. Please, do not sign the treaty with the Romulan Council members, or the people of Romulus will suffer. Uhura out."_

Everyone was silent on the Bridge. Spock was visibly relieved that she was unharmed, but the words that escaped her mouth were strange.

"She has been compromised," Adelphia said.

"Uhura is a strong soldier. She seemed unharmed and of sound mind, there is no reason to believe that she is compromised."

"It is possible that she is suffering from Stockholm syndrome, where the captive starts to sympathize with the captor," Adelphia responded.

"That is a possibility, Spock. We don't know what the Romulans have done to her since she and Kirk have been locked away," McCoy responded.

"Regardless of Uhura's mental competancies, there is now doubt about the Romulan dignitaries, Captain. We cannot allow these talks to continue with such doubt lingering," Spock responded.

"We can and we will. We have our orders," Adelphia responded.

"I am aware of our orders, Captain, however, there has been another variable added to the situation, we must cultivate multiple options, Captain," Spock responded, feeling his anger rise again. He was starting to flush green and McCoy knew this look.

"There are no multiple options when you have orders, Commander. Starfleet does not negotiate with terrorist," Adelphia was also starting to get very angry. The tension on the bridge was mounting and both the Commander and the Captain were speaking very hard to one another.

"Lieutenant Uhura and Captain Kirk are not terrorist, Captain Adelphia," Spock responded.

"They are now, Commander. If the Romulans have a problem with their people it is not our position to step in and meddle in their politics," Adelphia responded.

"And yet, Captain, we send in a strike team to their lands, disregarding the Prime Directive," Spock responded.

"Mr. Spock, either you discontinue this insubordination or you will give me no choice but to take corporal action," Adelphia responded.

"Spock, stop, she's the Captain," McCoy responded.

"With all due respect, Captain, discontinuing my insubordination will not be possible as you have yet to listen to any of my suggestions on the matter," Spock said.

"Security, please escort Commander Spock to the Brig," Adelphia said, swallowing a large lump in her throat. McCoy, Gaila, Sulu and the rest of the Bridge watched as the security guards came up to Spock and escorted him out of the Bridge and onto the turbolift.

"Mr. Sulu, tell the Romulan dignitaries that I will be back with them in a moment. The rest of you, get back to work," Adelphia said going to her ready room. When she reached behind the closed doors she exhaled so deeply that her body bent forward and she started to shudder. She started taking deeps breaths trying to hold back the tears that were threatening in her eyes. A tone at her door alerted her and she pulled herself together before she allowed the person entrance. It was McCoy.

"Yes Doctor?" she said, her voice a bit hoarse.

"You seemed like you could use someone to talk to," McCoy said.

"That is unwarranted."

"I could always relieve you of command, so you better start talking," McCoy said.

"Is everyone on this ship insubordinate?" Adelphia asked rhetorically.

"No, but you just put one of the best damn Starfleet officers in the Brig, so there is a problem."

"We have orders, McCoy, there is nothing I can do," Adelphia said somewhat mournfully.

"You keep talking about orders, and I get it, I do. But, what if the Romulan dignitaries are here in dubious intent? Then what? What if they are joining the Federation for better access to latinum mines?"

"That is not our concern at this moment, McCoy," she responded.

"May I speak frankly?" McCoy asked.

"Yes."

"You're a damn good negotiator, but as a Captain you're lacking. You refuse to read between the lines, you micromanage, and you don't know your people. Lieutenant Uhura was of sound mind when she sent us that transmission, she hasn't been compromised. Commander Spock, as much of a stoic bastard as he is, is an amazing thinker. Now we know that Romulans are manipulative by their very nature. If Tomolaak is trying to help us, is trying to reach out for help for his people then that is something that we cannot ignore, the risks are too great. Open your eyes, Captain. You have to start asking the hard questions."

"And what would be those hard questions, McCoy," she asked, barely on the edge of keeping her anger in check.

"If the Romulan council just wants to join the Federation for protection then why do they need the latinum? And, if Tomolaak is such a ruthless Romulan, then why didn't he kill our officers, especially when we were sent to kill him? That should prove something about the man's character."

"Your points are valid, doctor, but I am a Starfleet officer and must do what the Federation guides me to do," she said.

"Then stop thinking like a Captain, and start thinking like a space cowboy. And for fuck's sake, get that Vulcan out of the Brig. I promise that you can't do this without him," McCoy said, as he exited. Adelphia watched him leave and closed her eyes, squeezing her temples and the bridge of her ridged nose. When she opened her eyes she had a clearer view of what she needed to do.


End file.
